Open thread: Sunday morning talking heads

posted at 8:01 am on March 23, 2014 by Ed Morrissey

For the second week in a row, foreign affairs gets a much higher profile on the Sunday talk shows than usual, but we’ll get more talk about politics — and even a little March madness thrown in. Most of the shows will cover the crisis in Ukraine and the mystery of Flight 370, with Meet the Press handling both in one segment with House Intelligence chair Rep. Mike Rogers, plus Jimmy Carter discussing foreign policy (no, seriously). MTP also has the only March Madness segment, with a panel that includes Barack Obama confidante Reggie Love. Face the Nation is completely focused on the two international stories, so if you want domestic politics, you’ll want to tune in ABC’s This Week, where Nate Silver will share his polling analysis, or Fox News Sunday for John Kasich’s take on the economy and his plans for 2016.

Breaking on Hot Air

Blowback

Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.

(Like trying to sell a bucket of ice to the passengers waiting for a lifeboat on The Titanic’s main deck.)

I am going to tune into Meet the Depressed (for a change) just to see how they spin the blame off obama’s imbecilic five years of failed foreign policy. I also want to see if they can get Carter to say his foreign policy wasn’t even as bad as obama’s.

Most of the shows will cover the crisis in Ukraine and the mystery of Flight 370, with Meet the Press handling both in one segment with House Intelligence chair Rep. Mike Rogers, plus Jimmy Carter discussing foreign policy (no, seriously). MTP also has the only March Madness segment, with a panel that includes Barack Obama confidante Reggie Love

Jimmy will no doubt blame everything on his not being re-elected in 1980.

As for Reggie… the only things he could discuss intelligently re The One’s “inner circle” probably wouldn’t get past Broadcast Standards, even today.

Once more I’m glad I don’t have cable, satellite or even broadcast. Watching Season Two of Castle on DVD will be more interesting, and unlike this lot has almost no chance of causing irreversible brain damage.

“The prospect of a European energy crisis loomed last night as Moscow threatened to impose retaliatory sanctions, and the new Prime Minister of Ukraine said his country could suffer shortages if help was not received from the West.

Russia supplies 30 per cent of Europe’s gas and a number of the Baltic states are almost entirely reliant on Russia.

Yesterday, the Russian foreign ministry labelled this week’s EU sanctions, in which a further 12 people close to President Vladimir Putin have had their assets frozen and a travel ban imposed, as “divorced from reality”.

With both Brussels and Washington now threatening further “targeted measures” this week, Moscow made it clear that it was considering tit-for-tat sanctions. “Russia reserves the right to give an adequate response to the undertaken action,” a spokesman said.

Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, highlighted precarious energy supplies during a visit to Berlin, saying gas from the EU might be needed. He has previously said he fears Moscow plans to use energy as a “new nuclear weapon” to intimidate its neighbours.

In 2006, when Russia cut off supplies over a dispute with Ukraine over gas prices, many parts of Europe ran out of gas. Bulgaria shut down its main industrial plants, and Slovakia declared a state of emergency. The situation is now far less worrying. Reserves are high and Europe’s gas supply system has improved following a £1.3bn investment. G7 leaders will meet in The Hague tomorrow, and energy security and Ukraine’s national elections on 25 May are due to be on the agenda.

Yesterday, as Russian troops stormed the last remaining Ukrainian-held airbase in Crimea, more than 5,000 people gathered in the eastern city of Donetsk to demand a referendum on whether they, too, could split and join Russia.

Last night, the Foreign Office issued new advice warning against “all but essential” travel to Donetsk, as well as Lugansk and Kharkiv due to “regional tensions”.

FNS Panel: Ingraham – Øbama is a buffoon who has brought ineffective Kumbaya to world politics.
FNS Panel: Everybody else – sanctions, we can’t do anything, look at how effective sanctions have been in Iran…

Time again, boys and girls, for the DNC Media to air their Sunday Morning Hate propaganda shows. Each week Americans are treated to a narrow view of the world, presented by the media’s holders of that narrow view, liberalism. The target? A U.S populace where nearly 60% self-identify as conservatives.

Actual conservative guests on the all-liberal shows are relatively rare, but we get a steady stream of media liberals, GOP RINOs, and the D.C. Kook-Left-Fringe that now makes up the overwhelming majority of Democrats.

Scoring at the end is always painful, and you see what I mean. They call Patrick Meehan a Republican, but his lifetime ACU is below 50%, which means he votes with Nancy Pelosi more than Boner. Everyone in media calls Gingrich a conservative; do you? I don’t. So give CNN a center-left whitewash. Fox, on the other hand, all Red. NBC is, as always, a complete train wreck and waste of time.

“It is widely known that Russia is owed billions by Ukraine for already-delivered gas.

It is less widely know that Russia also hold $3b of UK law bonds which, as we explained in detail here, are callable upon certain covenants that any IMF (or US) loan bailout will trigger.

Russia has ‘quasi’ promised not to call those loans. It is, until now, hardly known at all (it would seem) that China is also owed $3bn, it claims, for loans made for future grain delivery to China.

It would seem clear from this action on which side of the ‘sanctions’ fence China is sitting.

Via RBC Ukraine (Google Translate),

In 2012, The State Food and Grain Corporation and the Export-Import Bank of China agreed to provide Ukrainian corporation loan of $ 3 billion, which was planned to be on the spot and forward purchases of grain for future delivery to China.

Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Igor Schweich confirmed that China has filed a lawsuit against Ukraine in a London court for the return of a loan of $3 billion.

The Ukraine minister disagrees with China’s case:

“filed false information that there are no claims to us from China. According to the contract have different interpretations, different interpretations, which led to the treatment of the Chinese side in court Gaft who works in London. Registered dispute between the parties exists,” – said Minister told reporters.

According to him, the parties agreed to take the following week a representative of the Chinese corporation for the possibility of peaceful settlement of the dispute.

“We, for our part, will do their steps to ensure that the other party or retract its announcement, or we found another way to a peaceful settlement,” – he said. According to Schweich, a meeting will be held on March 26.

Ukraine appears to claim that these loans were made by the previous administration

The Minister added that the main problem lies in the fact that some leaders of PJSC “State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine” incorrect information. “These people are now removed during the protest,” – said Schweich, noting that China “is relevant to understand.”

In February 2014. the current Prime Minister of Ukraine Yatsenyuk said that “location $ 3 billion is not found.”

While China has been relatively quiet in the background – though abstaining from the UN vote waqs a clear signal of relative support for Russia – this is a meaningful step in the direction of pressure against the West, as yet again, any bailout funds would flow straight to either Russia (gas bill sor callable bonds) or China (agriculture loans)….”

An Italian nun has become a national star after she wowed judges on her country’s version of “The Voice.”

The 25-year-old then told the quartet: “I have a gift and I’m giving it to you.”

The 25-year-old’s colleagues from the convent excitedly support her from backstage.
Broadcast on Wednesday night, the clip has already racked up more than 30,000 views.

J-Ax and singer Noemi waste no time in turning around during Sister Cristina’s performance.
It shows the Catholic Sister confidently walking out onto the stage and belting out her version of the hit song.

Fellow Sisters bounce up and down backstage as the judges decide they like what they hear and push their buttons – only to be stunned when seeing the singer.

“If I had found you at Mass I would always be in church,” joked one of the panel, an Italian rapper known as J-Ax, who then added: “You and me are like the devil and holy water.”

Asked what the Vatican would think of her song, Cristina replied: “I hope that Pope Francis will call me now.”

She eventually plumped to join J-Ax’s team and will now proceed to the battle rounds….”

“Rome, Italy, Mar 20, 2014 / 01:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Sr. Cristina Scuccia is a 25 year old member of the Ursuline Sisters of the Holy Family who has appeared on “The Voice of Italy,” a reality show akin to “American Idol” or “Britain’s Got Talent.”

Sr. Cristina surprised the four judges on The Voice of Italy March 19 with both her talent and her habit.

The judges on the show begin with their backs turned to the performer, and turn around only if they like what they hear.

As the judges turned to face Sr. Cristina, their astonishment was visible at seeing a young nun singing Alicia Keys’ “No One.”

A native of Sicily, Sr. Cristina arrived at the show accompanied by four sisters from her community, as well as her parents.

The four judges of the popular TV program are the Italian singers Raffaella Carra, J-Ax, Noemi, and Piero Pelu.

After her performance, Carra asked Sr. Cristina if she is really a nun, and why she chose to compete on the show.

“Yes, I am truly, truly a sister,” she replied.

“I came here because I have a gift and I want to share that gift. I am here to evangelize.”

According to the show’s format, when a participant receives the approval of the judges, they then choose which judge’s team to join.

Sr. Cristina chose J-Ax “because I told myself that if they turned around, I would choose the first one.”

J-Ax, who was visibly moved when he saw Sr. Cristina, said he was thrilled to have been chosen by the most popular participant on the show.

Sr. Cristina is trending on Twitter with “#suorcristina.”

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, used the hashtag in a tweet Thursday, commending her for sharing her talent with the Italian people: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others (1 Peter 4:10)”.

” In a recently-released summary report called “Persecuted and Forgotten?” Aid to the Church in Need has revealed a worldwide growth in discrimination against Christians in scope and frequency.

The persecution of Christians “has increased over the last 10 to 15 years,” said Ed Clancy, director of evangelization and outreach at Aid to the Church in Need, in an interview with CNA last month, adding that “persecution has many faces, unfortunately, and many places.”

Since there is no single threat to Christians across the world, he said, but myriad forms of oppression, “it might become more incumbent on the Catholic Church, and Christians in general, to be aware of the many dangers that Christians face in the world … in other places (than the U.S.) they’re facing many, many challenges.”

Late last year, the international charity issued “Persecuted and Forgotten?” as a nearly 200-page report. The executive summary, which can be read in full here, condenses the information found there into a concise 32-page booklet.

“It’s a matter of delivering it in a format and in a size that allows people to get a good grasp of what’s happening, and to perhaps seek more information,” Clancy explained.

While it may be easy to focus on the oppression of Christians in such places as Syria and Nigeria, the phenomenon is not restricted to the Middle East, the report shows.

“There are place where communism unfortunately is still in control, like Vietnam and Cuba,” he noted. Citing Vietnam as a country unlike “more radicalized places like Iran” where Christians face overt persecution, “there they use bureaucratic red tape, and the power of the government, to control and limit the Church, and essentially bother people….”

TY… my Sunday can now begin!
Re: Ayotte, who are the women that would qualify for a “conservative” label these days? Ayotte, Haley and Martinez seem like logical VP candidates given the current electoral environment. I sure do like Haley.

Thanks for the thanks. You all seem to know The Usual Suspects so well, thinking it’s time to adapt a bit and spend more time on the bit players and new names. Example: two or three weeks in a row the D.C. LibMedia has booked this guy Tony Blinken, but before the first time I had never even heard his name. Apparently he aspires to be among The People Who Pontificate on TV, and no surprise — he’s a liberal douchebag and a know-nothing dope.